Pins and Needles

We are waiting for a response from the bank on whether or not they will sell us their house. We submitted an offer a week and a half ago. We had hoped that we could get into it and remodel before I started work. At this rate, we won't. Our realtor said that the bank is courting another contract that will provide a whopping profit of $2K more than they would make on us. And the prospective buyers need down payment assistance. After a year of financial devastation, the bank is pinching us out of our house for $2k. Shareholders of __X__ bank should be proud!

In Memorium

Today I sent my boat off to my brother. I will miss the fun, but not the trouble. Joe and I had many a great ride in Kansas, and I will never forget how much fun it was growing up in Ohio. The times it worked were great. The times it didn't were simply embarassing. I can't count the number of times that I paddled or swam it in to the docks. I also can't count the number of times that I never thought it would be able to run as well as it did that day. Unfortunately because of my body's super efficient fat-storage system, even on the good days it will no longer allow me to ski behind it in the manner of my choosing. My brother got the thin genes, so he won't have that problem.

I had planned on taking the boat to Idaho in January when I left for Lewis & Clark, but due to snow on the roads, I chickened out. Looking at today, I am glad that I did. My in-laws volunteered to take it to Utah today where my brother will pick it up. They needed to take a few items to friends, and their truck is much more powerful than our old Jeep. A few hours into their trip, one of the tires on the trailer blew out. They didn't notice until it had eaten up part of the rim. The boat had a spare, but no tire iron. Luckily, they were only 15 miles outside of Moab, so my father-in-law unhooked the trailer and went into town while my brother-in-law and mother-in-law sat in the boat and ate dinner. They said it was like any other day on the lake except there was not water. Finally, they got a tire iron, put the spare on, and left for Salt Lake. A few hours later, in Price Utah, the spare tire gave out. Luckily, they are near a few tire stores and are not a schedule.

Maybe the boat is exacting its final revenge on me for not using it for the last two years. Rachel believes in the personification of inanimate objects, so this would not be a difficult thing to imagine for her. I envision the boat with a stern grimmace trying to figure out how to best inflict pain on me... "Rachel hates me, and her family is doing him a favor, so if I can make the trip hard, he will feel bad, and she will multiply the anguish by complaining about me and the ordeal. It is a perfect plan." It is also possible that a 10 year old tire and a 30 year old spare simply can't handle the pressure of making a final road trip.

I tend to think that it is the boat's final farewell. It's new owner will surely use it, for he is a professional fisherman. It was first purchased in Idaho, and to Idaho it returns. From a fisherman, to a recreationalist, back to a fisherman. I think that it will enjoy the cool river and lake water there.

May you live out your days is wet peace, dear boat.

Mental stimulation

I read two books on my trip to California... The Richest Man in Babylon and The Alchemist. The Richest Man in Babylon is an old financial advice book that can be boiled down to save at least 10% of what you make to pay yourself. Then take that money and use it to make more money. Simple right? It explains this concept in different variations through the telling of fictional tales of people from Babylon during its glory days. Where did it get Babylon? RICH... then destroyed. It gives the concept within the first few pages and then pounds you over the head with it again and again. Mostly I stuck with it because I found it on the bookshelf at my parents house with a note from my grandfather and grandmother to my parents in 1976. Now that I have read it, I think that I can honestly declare that none of my family has ever read the book or followed its theme.

Everyone has read The Alchemist so no need to repeat the theme. I was struck by one passage that bears repeating. It is shortly after the boy watches the hawks fight and thinks of it as an omen. It is on page 101 of my version... "He knew that any given thing on the face of the earth could reveal the history of all things. One could open a book to any page, or look at a person's hand; one could turn a card, or watch the flight of the birds... whatever the thing observed, one could find a connection with his experience of the moment. Actually, it wasn't that those things, in themselves, revealed anything at all; it was just that people, looking at what was occurring around them, could find a means of penetration to the Soul of the World." If I were to have written it, it would say something like... 'Actually, it wasn't that those things, in themselves, revealed anything at all; it was just that people, looking at what was occurring around them, could find a means of looking backward, seeing forward, and piecing together the story about to unfold before their eyes.'

While it is mentally stimulating to read, both books left me a little blah. Is it too much to ask for a new message? I guess that's what I get for reading old books.

Summer Broken

Summer break is great until about 4 weeks into the break, at which point begin to I long for a routine. This summer has been more difficult than most in that I returned home from a long absence, my wife is increasing her business stature, we made a rush trip to Ohio, and a house hunting venture to California. For the rest of my break I have to write some papers, prepare courses, pack the house, move, remodel a kitchen, start a new job, and be a supporting spouse.

Having said all of that, I have the best job in the world. This summer is just broken.

All a dream

I have discovered a wondrous ability to dream. I start by meditating on something and gradually I fall asleep. I am immediately in a dream-like state. The other day I went from meditating to dreaming to awake again in under ten minutes. It is a great way to nap.

Unfortunately, Portland seems like a dream. I remember the students faces, going to my office, and apartment, but it seems so surreal... almost as if I had never been there. I realize that I was there, but it is all fuzzy and gray in my mind. Maybe it really was fuzzy and gray there... It was Portland.

Summer break

The semester is over, the final grades are in, and I am going to enjoy being with my family. The last four months away were a good experience, but they were long. Now I get to enjoy the fruits of the academic lifestyle... summer break (without a paycheck until 1 October).

My to do list:
write two publishable papers
prepare two classes
buy a house in a deflating real estate market
move to California
perform all of my domestic duties
lose 20 pounds

Ambitious? yes. Manageable? who knows.

My Ferrari Weekend

I slipped away to Cannon Beach to grade papers. After I graded them all (about 80), I went downtown to see the annual Ferrari show. This is the view down the side street with the cars. Not only were there Ferraris but there were Mazaratis, DeTomasas, Lamborghinis, and a few others.


I was totally surprised when I saw this F40 with its hatch open. I spent a significant amount of time looking at the transmission, intakes, engine, and other farkles. Needless to saw, I am sure that it is a safe car, but I wouldn't want to get in a fender-bender with it.

I was also impressed to see this machine on the road. The Maclaren - Mercedes Benz SLR is everything you could expect from those names. It has a gigantic hood that looks cartoonish. They say that it can get from 0-60 in 3 seconds. This one had a license plate holder that offered napkins for the droolers. I guess you can expect that from a car with a base price in the $400Ks.
In the end, I couldn't choose where to spend my money. So, I got both the 308 and the 328. Who can argue with their class?